At long blooming last! Although it has not been particularly cold it has been decidedly ‘un-south-of-France’ like. I like the heat and enjoy getting to the point where you complain about the heat!! In fact I would be more than happy to forgo winter completely and live in summer all year round.

Anyhow it has been busy, busy times here – no surprise there. I think I might be the only person looking forward to going to hospital to give birth so that I can have a lie down!!!! All this madness will be worth it when it is done I am sure.

We managed to convince Ben to stay on and he has been an absolute superstar, we have accomplished loads with him. The workshop has been transformed, not only is the wall in place which means that Chris can now work with his bench and his machinery in place, but we have the railings for the insulation all ready and set up. Plus he has done a fab job of the stud wall for the chaufferie – this is to close off our flash harry heating system and burning wood from the rest of the workshop, that way the joinery wood is not in contact with the burning wood and the chaudiere doesn’t get covered in dust.

My parents arrived this week and have adapted to our chaotic lifestyle very well. Yesterday Vincent and Will came to do the scratch coat with us on the stone walls. So all hands on deck, my parents and Ben covered the windows and ceilings with plastic to protect the windows and ceilings, whilst Chris, Vincent and Will made light work of the scratch coat. In fact Will and Vincent are so good that they did most of it on their own. Sadly Vincent said that the next layer will not be so quick and easy!

So yesterday after the two guys left Chris and I cleared up and tried to put some order in the house. It looks a tad sombre right now as the scratch coat is not a thing of beauty but it gives the lime render something to stick to rather than sliding off the slippery stones and onto the floor! Whilst we were busy with that Ben finished off the chaufferie stud walls, he is a perfectionist and has done a very thorough job. And my mum started attacking the jungle, otherwise know as a garden! Because we don’t usually get any rain, or very little, the weeds have gone ballistic and are knee-high and everywhere! I am sure it won’t be long before we are back in drought but it is nice to get it cleared all the same.

Today I take Ben to Carcassonne where he meets up with his friends and has a well deserved holiday. We will be sorry to see him go as he not only worked well but is a lovely guy. Chris must get on with his client work as that is backing up and I will continue with prep for next week. It is going to be tight getting all that rendering done in 3 days but we must.